Njongonkulu Ndungane

Njongonkulu Ndungane is the Anglican archbishop for southern Africa. On first meeting, he is not likely to hold your hand and whisper a joke. Speaking over lunch, he won't insist on saying grace. And, most obviously, his is not a household name the world over. In short, Ndungane is not Desmond Tutu, his Nobel laureate predecessor who turned Bishopscourt, the archbishop's residence in Cape Town, into a renowned address.

Njongonkulu Ndungane is the Anglican archbishop for southern Africa. On first meeting, he is not likely to hold your hand and whisper a joke. Speaking over lunch, he won't insist on saying grace. And, most obviously, his is not a household name the world over. In short, Ndungane is not Desmond Tutu, his Nobel laureate predecessor who turned Bishopscourt, the archbishop's residence in Cape Town, into a renowned address.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- The Anglican archbishop of South Africa said his church cannot avoid the controversial subject of same-sex unions. A report submitted to Cape Town Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane by a panel of lay and clergy leaders said same-sex marriages, while infrequent, can be found throughout African cultures and are "considered far from abnormal."

The worldwide Anglican Communion has become so obsessed with sexuality that it has ignored the more pressing issues of poverty, AIDS and spreading the gospel, the Anglican archbishop of South Africa said. Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane said it is irresponsible for conservative church leaders -- including other African bishops -- to criticize Anglicans in Vancouver for allowing same-sex unions, or for Episcopalians in the United States to elect the Rev. V.

Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane of South Africa called Friday for a fundamental reappraisal of the world economy, warning that unless "a caring ethic" replaces greed, imbalances between the rich and the poor will threaten all. Speaking to a luncheon of the Los Angeles World Affairs Council, Ndungane--who succeeded Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu in 1996 as Anglican archbishop of Capetown--said the time has come to put the needs of people ahead of profits.

In a classic guns-vs.-butter dilemma, the government of President Nelson Mandela is negotiating to buy $5 billion in European military equipment, even though more than a third of South Africans still do not have access to electricity or safe water and millions live in shantytowns.

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet will offer a public address on universal responsibility, a weeklong teaching on the Buddhist path to enlightenment and other talks during a visit to Southern California June 25 through 30. The Nobel Peace Prize recipient will deliver his public address June 25 at 5:30 p.m. at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 3939 S. Figueroa St. The address will focus on universal ethics and responsibility, the subject of his 1999 bestseller, "Ethics for a New Millennium."

The ancient stones of Canterbury Cathedral have witnessed the coronations of kings, the murder of an archbishop and the concussion of Nazi bombs. Now, they are silent observers to the remaking of the centuries-old Anglican Communion.

Until recently, school here was conducted on a patch of trampled earth beneath a giant berry tree. For the lucky few, there was a pair of grass huts. Now, the children meet beneath shiny metal roofs in brick classrooms at the Namayemba Primary School, one of thousands of development projects across Africa. But the Namayemba school is different in a potentially momentous way: Construction money came from a new account created when foreign lenders canceled some Ugandan government debt.